Justice on the Horizon for Rosemary Christensen

Rosemary Christensen, a 43-year-old Belleair, Florida realtor, vanished on August 26, 1999. Rosemary's husband, Robert Glenn Temple, claimed he saw Rosemary at their condo that night. For reasons that will soon be clear, only Christensen's last meeting with a client was considered a confirmed final sighting of the woman alive.

For his part, Temple said he left the condo around 7 that night and he never went back. Temple claimed that he had no idea whether or not anyone was with Rosemary prior to her disappearance.

The following day, Robert Glenn Temple left Florida altogether. He traveled with his then 22-year-old girlfriend, Lesley Stewart, to Decatur, Illinois. Temple said he tried to call his wife, to no avail.

By August 30, Rosemary Christensen's co-workers knew that something was wrong. They must have suspected Temple of some involvement in Rosemary's disappearance, because the couple had a history of domestic violence. Additionally, Temple was having an affair when Rosemary vanished, and truth be told, Robert Glenn Temple was no stranger to homicide. Well, to be specific, manslaughter.

In 1974 Temple -- then 24 -- was living with Brenda June Cravens and 18-month-old Jason Scott Cravens in California. On June 22 that year, little Jason was discovered in the bathtub of a hotel room, dead, with cuts and bruises on his body. The FBI arrested the couple in Los Angeles on September 6, 1974. Later that year Temple pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and Brenda Cravens copped to being an accessory.

So... police searching for Rosemary Christensen were certainly suspicious of Temple. On the morning of August 27, 1999, he and Lesley Stewart bought supplies intended for cleaning and painting. You know -- the stuff you might use to conceal the scene of a crime? And then there were those missing pieces of carpet from the condo Temple shared with his wife, a household item with a bloodstain on it, and a decidedly tell-tale new coat of paint on a wall in the residence.

But the cops didn't have a body, and Robert Temple knew better than to cooperate.

That part about not having a body has changed, now. On September 8, two days ago, the Pinellas County Sheriff reported that they'd recovered the remains of Rosemary Christensen.

Temple, already in jail in California on other charges, will now face murder charges and extradition back to Florida.

It took 9 years, but it looks as though Robert Temple's alleged secrets finally came back haunt him.

Most of the time, bodies just don't stay hidden the way they're supposed to. They will out. There are others, living in Florida right now, who would do well to learn about the disappearance -- the murder -- of Rosemary Christensen. A lot of rain falls in Florida. The sandy earth runs, and old, cold secrets come to light. Just ask Robert Glenn Temple.

More links from around the web!

I think I've read every article and listened to every video online concerning Mr. Temple's trial. The newspapers have made a big "deal" of Mr. Temple purchasing "bleach"" at Wal-Mart the following morning of Rosemary's death to "supposedly" clean up the crime scene. REGULAR household bleach will NOT remove traces of blood, even when Luminol is used? Only commercial bleach will, which was not sold to the public at that time. Ms. Stewart stated she saw a "3-foot pool of blood around Rosemary's KNEES." In her report to the police she said there was blood on the "walls, bedspread, t.v. and computer? The Pinellas County forensic team spent 5 days in Mr. Temple's condo, doing a thorough search for traces of blood, and found NONE. Rather strange, don't you think?